Today’s guest blogger is Katja Poppenhaeger. Katja is a Sagan postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA). Her research interests are exoplanets and their host stars, with a focus on stellar magnetic activity and its effects on exoplanetary atmospheres. She also is the organizer of the CfA's Women In Science Chats, a series of informal discussions where female CfA postdocs and graduate students can meet with visiting scientists.

A few weeks ago my colleague, Mohaddesseh Azimlu, mentioned how great it would be to have a group photo of all the female astronomers and astronomy students at the CfA. She was about to leave for a new career opportunity in Canada, so we hurried to invite everyone for a photo shot on a cold February day. We got an overwhelmingly positive response from the astronomers: We had 55 people join the picture, and 17 more who could not attend in person sent in photos of themselves to be added to the picture. Here's the result:

While many people were excited about this picture, women and men alike, we also heard a few criticisms: Why is this group picture exclusive? Why not also organize group pictures for the men, or all scientists? And: Do we still need this?

Back to top.2. Career Profiles: Astronomer to Staff Scientist From: Laura Trouille at womeninastronomy.blogspot.com

The AAS Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy and the AAS Employment Committee have compiled dozens of interviews highlighting the diversity of career trajectories available to astronomers. The interviews share advice and lessons learned from individuals on those paths.

Below is our interview with an astronomer turned staff scientist at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO). If you have questions, suggestions, advice to share, etc. about this career path, please leave a comment below.

Back to top.4. Women Earn Less Social SecurityFrom: Michele M. Montgomery [montgomery_at_physics.ucf.edu]

Of all that are on social security, women make up 60% but receive 76% that of what men receive. One reason is because women typically have lower earnings, they take time out of the workforce to care for family members, and gender inequality in wages, especially in the sciences. How can working women prepare for the future? According to Acting Social Security Commissioner Carolyn Colvin, working women need to save their money and spend below their means. To read more about the advice from the Acting Social Security Commissioner, a woman, please see the NPR news article

Science teachers spend 39% more time class time directly addressing boys than girls, a study finds as discussed in Enhancing Adolescents' MOtivation for Science. Tools used in measuring the difference include pre- and post-surveys and responses when prompted by pagers in class. To read more about the study and results, please see

President Obama declared April 8, 2014 as National Equal Pay Day. He calls upon all Americans to recognize the value of women's skills, women's contributions, acknowledge wage inequality and its injustice, and join in efforts to achieve equal pay. This date is chosen because women have to work this far into 2014 to earn what a male in her profession earned in 2013.

To read the proclamation, please read the White House press release at

Back to top.7. Executive Orders to Help Close the Gender Pay DisparitiesFrom: Michele M. Montgomery [montgomery_at_physics.ucf.edu]

On Tuesday April 15, 2014, President Obama signed two executive orders to help close the pay disparities between genders. One order was to help women learn whether they had been cheated in receiving equal pay for equal work. The Paycheck Fairness Act was sent to the Senate on Wednesday. To read more, please see

Back to top.8. Gender Pay Gap in Academe May Not be What MattersFrom: Michele M. Montgomery [montgomery_at_physics.ucf.edu]

New data has been released by the American Association of University Professors, which shows that there is gender wage gap, but not as much as in other careers. Female full professors, associate professors, lecturers, and instructors make 90%, 93%, 91%, 88%, and 96%, respectively, of what male peers make. At the lower end of the faculty-pay scale at doctoral universities, for every five instructors, three are female. Thus the average salary for all male faculty at doctoral universities are pulled upward by the disproportionate number of male full professors. Similarly, the average salary for all female faculty at doctoral universities are dragged down by the disproportionate number of female lecturers and instructors. The statistics are echoed at two-year colleges as well. Therefore, male faculty occupy more higher paid ranks, especially at research universities. So what may be what matters is the hiring practices 20 - 30 years ago.

Back to top.9. Careers in Astronomy in Germany and the UKFrom: Janine Fohlmeister [janine@ari.uni-heidelberg.de]

In a study published in the April issue of Astronomy and Geophysics, we discuss the outcomes of surveys addressing the career situation of astronomers in Germany and the UK, finding social and cultural differences between communities as well as gender bias in both.

Back to top.10. Changing the Face of Astronomy ResearchFrom: Michele M. Montgomery [montgomery_at_physics.ucf.edu]

To increase the number of minorities and women in astronomy research, City University of New York has started a scholarship and one-on-one mentoring program to the underrepresented populations. The program is called AstroCom NYC. To read how CUNY is planning on changing the face of astronomy research, please see